The Other Ones
by SakuratheQueen
Summary: Nahruhina canon and Narusaku fanon collide. How will the next generation of each dimension heal the wounds of their parents while simultaneously fighting off a new foe? This story is ship friendly. Just know that more than one pairing will be presented. And while they will all go through hardships, they will all be presented in a respectful and positive light.
1. Chapter 1

Hello All! I've decided to write a story to help ease my mind about the messy ending of Naruto. There are a lot of unanswered questions and gaping plot holes. So to make myself come to terms with the NH canon ending and to work out the fanon ending I've always wanted with NS, I've decided to write.

This story will include both pairings (And no there will be no cheating, if you want to know how that is possible, well you'll just have to keep reading). So, if you are an avid hater of NS or NH this most likely isn't the story for you as it will include moments and children of both couples.

Moving on from that disclaimer. I have been a fan of Naruto for many years. My favorite character is Sakura. I did not like the ending but believe I have been respectful with my opinions.

If you take the time to read my story, I thank you. Really I am writing this for myself to help explain away some of my grievances and to fulfill some NS fantasies. So if any one cares to read my dribble, well, that is just awesome.

While I have read/watched Naruto for years, I don't know all the functions of the ninja system and the chakra system, so if you know better than I, I'd love to hear from you. Reviews in general would be highly appreciated!

Well, enough of my blabbering. On to the story!

((TO MY NS FRIENDS: This first chapter has a lot of NH in it. They are the canon couple and so I started with them. If you can make it through, know that I will give the same attention and caring to my NS scenes))

* * *

The morning light filtered through the sheer curtains and into the Hokage's bedroom. The light crept across the floor, inching it's way closer to the slumbering couple. The Hokage's wife awoke when the heat of the sun warmed her back. "Naruto-kun, it is time to wake up." She was answered by muffled moaning. She smiled, "No, no arguing, you have to get up, Bolt has been looking forward to this for some time now." Hinata pushed her husband's back gently until he sat up.

Naruto reached into the air stretching his stiff, sleeping muscles. He turned with half lidded eyes and gave a lazy grin to his wife. "He'll get it today, he is so close."

"Then there is no time to waste. Get going." She urged him sweetly.

"Hai, hai." He answered and began his trudge to the shower.

Down the hall and in his own room Bolt was doing his daily warm up. Push-ups, sit-ups, squats, etc, and then he doubled it. The Rasengan was at his fingertips. And really at 17 years old he should have already conquered it. After all, his father had been so much younger when he had first mastered it. Bolt wasn't happy with the fact it was taking so long to match his father. Arguments about the 9-tails chakra being a significant reason why Naruto learned it so quickly went in one ear and out the other. Bolt had to keep up if he was going to surpass his father someday and the Rasengan was a key part to that.

The young man almost jumped when he heard the knock at the door. "Bolt, you awake?"

"Yes, dad." He answered and picked up the bag that he had packed hours before. He opened his bedroom door and there stood his father, dressed in his trademark orange. The Hokage stood with his hands on his hips and a lopsided grin on his face. Bolt looked at his father with a hint of annoyance furrowing his brow. His father's enthusiasm was grating on his nerves already. There was no need to be this excited until he actually completed the difficult technique.

"Today's the day, I can tell!" Naruto sung to his son.

"Yeah, maybe." Bolt said and shouldered past his father.

Naruto skipped to his son's side, closing the distance with his long legs in one stride. "Come now, a couple more days at the most and you'll have it fully formed." Naruto said as he draped an arm over Bolt's shoulder. Naruto could sense the immense pressure that Bolt was putting on himself. His only son was desperate to prove himself as an equal to Naruto, his father, and Minato, his grandfather. The Uzumaki family was full of heroes and Bolt wanted to be one of them.

The two Uzumaki men walked out of their house and through the village. Bolt tried to curb his impatience as person after person called out to the Hokage. Doing his duty to the people of Konoha the village leader stopped and said his good-mornings to nearly everyone. Bolt sighed away his frustrations though. Things were so much better than they use to be when his father had first become Hokage. It brought a tinge of pink to his cheeks when he thought about his outcries for attention. All the stupid pranks he had pulled over the years were a stain to his reputation. And although he believed his frustrations with his father had been legitimate, he wished he had dealt with it better.

Naruto and Bolt had been able to mend their fragile relationship, with a bit of help from Naruto's best friend and village pariah, Sasuke. But Bolt was grateful to Sasuke, and a bit more understanding of his father. So when Naruto waved goodbye to the guards at the village gates, Bolt was happy to be free of anyone else that might draw his father's attention. Training outside of the village as father and son had been his mother's idea.

"First one there?" Naruto asked simply.

"Really, dad? Again?"

"Come on! You use to love this game."

"You better not use those teleporting kunai that Lady Tenten made you!" Bolt said accusingly.

"That was one time!" Naruto defended.

"Fine. On my mark though."

"Hai, hai."

"Go!" Bolt yelled as he released the chakra that he had pooled in his feet. He bound across the open road, leaped into the tree tops and soared over the forest. His father was on his trail, giving him just enough security in holding the lead position. The open field loomed ahead of them. It would only take them a minute to reach their destination, and Bolt would not lose this time! He focused his chakra in his feet and pushed against the trunk of a great oak with all his might.

"You got another lesson from Sakura-chan, huh?" Naruto called from behind. Bolt could hardly hear his father over the roar of the wind in his ears. But the race was still close and Bolt's father was still on his tail. So he ignored him and started to focus his chakra again.

Naruto laughed out as his son pushed ahead again. Though their relationship had healed tremendously these last couple years Naruto realized that Bolt considered his father his biggest competition. It had taken a long time for Naruto to realize that his son's hate was really his rampant jealousy. It had eaten at Naruto that he had caused the same loneliness in his children that he had felt in his own youth.

However, Naruto did not believe in handing his son anything. So as the open training field flew into his line of sight he took off. In a flash he surpassed his son in the treetops and skidded to a dusty halt on the dirt ground.

"Maybe next time?" Naruto called as his son caught up. The yellow haired teen shot him a glare.

"Hmph." Was the only answer he was going to get. Bolt lugged his bag off his shoulders and settled it on the floor. He began to trifle through the bag when his father coughed to get his attention. Bolt looked up at his father's expectant face. "What? Really!? But we ran here!"

"Don't care. Don't cut corners, Bolt."

"Says the ninja infamous for rushing into things." Bolt answered sarcastically.

"And look how much trouble I got in! Really! I should have learned my lesson long ago." Naruto smiled sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. "Besides, you should take after your mother. Caution is good."

"What about that time with Pai-" Bolt was cut off.

"Okay, then don't be like either of us! Just start running!" Naruto pointed to the edge of the forest.

"Ugh!" But Bolt listened to his father and started to run towards the edge of the field.

* * *

"Dad! Look! I'm doing it!"

"Dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed while he looked at his son with pride. "A Rasengan." It was unrefined and Bolt was trying to keep it in its spherical shape with all his power. But it was a rasengan, Bolt's first complete one. "Your mother will be so proud. I'm so proud."

The Rasengan flickered out of life as Bolt's chakra gave out, but there was a victorious smile plastered on his face.

"Ramen is on me tonight!" Naruto promised.

"Dad…" Bolt said dejected and exhausted.

"What? No? We always have Ichiraku to celebrate. It's tradition." Naruto defended.

Bolt watched his father's hopeful look. The hokage could be extremely childish at times like this. He sighed in defeat, "K, Ichiraku." And he was rewarded with his father's trademark goofy grin. The two Uzumaki men packed their belongings and headed towards their village and the promised meal.

* * *

Blue eyes as clear as a cloudless sky watched as the two men walked away. They furrowed in confusion and intrigue. The kunichi jumped down from the highest branch of an evergreen to the lowest. With perfect chakra control she stuck to the thin branch. With a slender hand she moved the pines out of her way to get a better look at the retreating backs of the hokage and his companion. When the duo was far enough she jumped to the ground and made her way out to the middle of the field. Her eyes took in the debris of their training. The young woman focused chakra into the palm of her hand. With careful concentration she spun the chakra until it sparked to life in her hand.

There in the center of the field stood a blue eyed kunichi with a perfect rasengan floating in her hand. She let it spin for just a few seconds before she shook out her hand and the orb evaporated from view.

Without warning the mysterious woman shot towards Konohagakure and the hokage.

* * *

"Kanpai!" Cheers rang out from all around Bolt. He just looked sourly at his glass of water. Naruto happened to catch the look from the corner of his eye.

"Couple more years, son." Naruto said as he took a sip of his sake.

Bolt just shot a look at his father and all the other overbearing adults drinking around him. If only they knew that Bolt and the other's in his ninja class had already tried most of the alcohol you can get in Konohagakure. But Bolt couldn't say that while half the village was crowding into the small ramen stand to congratulate him. Most were his father's old friends and a couple of his classmates. Uchiha sensei had given him a knowing wink. Really it was her teachings with chakra control that had given him the tools to master his father's technique.

Kakashi sensei and Iruka sensei had also stopped by briefly before the place had become too crowded. The praise of his peers and his teachers tinged Bolt's cheeks with a dark shade of pink, but he couldn't help but smile. And a thought hit him just for a second. This was most likely what it was like to be his father. To feel like the village was your family. To feel them excited and share your achievements. Not for the first time he felt a pang of guilt for the hard time he had given his parents.

Speaking of his parents, Bolt heard his mother's voice over the din of the small gathering, "Bolt! Naruto-kun!" Hinata squeezed her way through the crowd with Himawari in tow. When others saw Hinata they made way so she could get closer to her son and husband.

Bolt wondered what embarrassment his tender mother had in store for him.

But all the woman did was give him a neatly wrapped package and a kindly smile.

"What is it?"

"Just open it, nii-chan." Himawari said at her mother's side.

Bolt grunted at his little sister but did as she said. He pulled the wrapping away from the box and pried off the lid. With one hand he pulled out a knitted…something. "What is it?"

"Geeze!" His little sister exclaimed.

"It's a sweater. I've been trying new things. It even has the Uzumaki and Hyuga clan symbols." Hinata said taking the black lump out of her son's hands to show him the stitching she had done.

"I helped." Himawari interjected.

"Oh, uh, thanks guys."

"Whoa, what's this? It's awesome!" Naruto finally taking notice.

"Thanks, Daddy!" Himawari said jumping to her dad's side.

Bolt put the sweater back in the box before any of his classmates could see it.

"Aren't you going to try it on?" Came a condescending voice from the shadows. Sarada stepped into the crowd and looked at Bolt with a cocked eyebrow.

"Sarada…" Bolt said with a tinge of warning.

"No, no, it's up to you. I just thought you would look lovely with that sweater on." She swished her hand from side to side. "Don't mind me."

"Ugh, you're annoying."

"At least I'm not an idiot." Sarada shot back.

"I'll get you!" And in a flash the two were off and running amongst the roof tops.

"Those two." Hinata said with a tinge of worry in her voice.

"Let them be Hinata. Rivalry is a good thing." Naruto said and ordered a glass of sake for his wife.

* * *

"You better stop right there!" Bolt yelled at Sarada's back. When she was younger her hair had been kept short but now it hung loose and long and it taunted him as she stayed just out of his reach.

"Like hell!" She answered looking back at him over her shoulder. Bolt continued to chase after her until they reached the village edge. "We should be fine now." She said as she pulled to the stop on the edge of a rooftop. She turned on her heel and faced her pursuer. Bolt stumbled to a halt before her. The two stared at each other in the dead of night. Without warning Sarada jumped into Bolt's arms.

"Congratulations! I can't believe you did it." Sarada exclaimed as she buried her face into his shoulder.

Bolt recovered quickly and wrapped his arms around his childhood friend and kinda-girlfriend. "Thank you." he said sweetly. Sarada pulled back slightly but stayed in his arms. A smile, something rare for her, was stretched across her face and it warmed Bolt's heart. Not for the first time he wished they didn't have to do this weird tango. "You know what would make this night even better."

Sarada leaned even further away from his mischievous grin. "What?" She asked warily.

"Let's tell everyone we're dating! It's been long enough now and our parent's won't mind. You'll se-"

"No, Bolt." Sarada said curtly, finally distancing herself from him completely. "I told you, not yet. You don't get it. Just be patient with me."

"And I have been!" Bolt defended.

"Well, not enough apparently! I'll let you know when but you're going to have to wait."

"This is ridiculous!" Bolt was frustrated. After all it was Sarada who had originally approached him. Apparently he was as thick-headed as his father. But she didn't want anyone to know. "You're paranoid for no reason. Your father likes me!"

"I don't know why I always have to explain this to you Bolt. But if you can't wrap your head around it then let's just forget about this." Sarada yelled.

"Wait. What? Forget what? What are you talking about?" Bolt said taking a step in her direction. He needed to do damage control and quickly. "Stop. Just stop." Sarada crossed her arms and looked at him with a cold glare. "I spoke rashly. I just, I was just so happy. I thought if we became official it would make this day perfect. But I shouldn't push you. You're right. I'm sorry. Please, just calm down."

"I really don't want to hear talk like that again." Sarada warned.

"I know, I know. I said I was sorry."

"You really will wait, right?"

"On my honor. Not a word until you are ready." Bolt promised.

"Alright then. Crisis averted."

"You're so stubborn, four eyes."

"At least I'm not an idiot, baka." The two teased each other with their childhood taunts.

"Come here, billboard." Bolt whispered as he took her hand and pulled her back in front of him.

"What every you say, cat-boy." Sarada cooed as she leaned in. The young couple drifted closer and closer to one another, getting dangerously close to their first kiss when an explosion on the other side of the village lit up the night sky and stole their attention.

"What was that?" Sarada asked.

"Who cares?" Bolt said trying to get back her attention by caressing her cheek.

Sarada just looked back at him with an annoyed look. "That's the stance the future Hokage is going to take?"

"Ugh, FINE!" He said. He quickly pecked her cheek with his lips, smiled and said, "Let's go."

* * *

Thank you for getting through all that! And please review. This is just another friendly reminder, future chapters will have NS and NH in them. If you don't want to see anything from one of those ships then please move on, this story is not for you. You have been warned.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you so much if you took the time to read chapter 1 and were still interested enough to read chapter 2. That's always exciting!

Again, I would like to mention that this story will include multiple ships (mostly NaruHina and NaruSaku). I will be respectful to both ships. If you happen to hate either one, this probably isn't the story for you. And I won't take offense to you not reading it.

Thank you!

* * *

"MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!" A leaf shinobi bellowed out to the civilians as they scrambled through the streets to get to safety. "TO THE HOKAGE MOUNTAIN!"

Konohagakure, as a whole, had learned long ago that the world had villains in it capable of terrible powers and awesome destruction. Knowing this truth, they had perfected their defences. Shinobi lined the streets and directed people to the right path. The elders and children were all accompanied and helped along in the organized chaos. Anbu forces took to the perimeter to protect from attacks from any other direction. And a few watched the skies for an aerial attack. The well-oiled machine that was Konohagakure was at work.

On this night, it seemed to be an isolated incident. Naruto, his wife, Sakura, and few others of the Konoha 11 were first at the scene. They were quickly joined by their juniors and a couple of the brave trainees.

"Hinata." Naruto said. Without needing his prompting, Hinata already had her byakugan activated and was searching through the smoke and dust for any signs of chakra.

"It's like a spiderweb! There are Strings of chakra everywhere!" She explained as her eyes searched the surrounding area.

"Boobytraps then. Someone must have set one off. Do you see a source?" Sakura added.

"There is a focal point but it doesn't make any sense. It's just a box, a tiny box in the middle of the web." Hinata tried to explain.

"I've got this." Came Temari's voice from behind them. From a small scroll at her hip she summoned her giant fan. With a single swipe she banished the debri in the air. Left behind was rubble of the great wall that encircled the village and some building fragments caught in the explosion. Those standing in the trees and on the tops of buildings were poised in a ready stance for any surprise attack.

"Careful everyone." Naruto said as they jumped down from the rooftops towards the mess.

"I'll check for any injured persons." Sakura said and jumped towards the damaged buildings. She disappeared into the rubble.

"And I'll scope the forest for any traces of an intruder." Kiba called from a couple rooftops away. The older shinobi there called out the tasks that they would help with while the younger ones waited for orders from their team leaders. Naruto and Hinata made their way towards the box.

"Be careful." Naruto cautioned as his wife led them through the strings of chakra. Hinata stepped lightly through the foliage and chakra strands until she came to the source. In her vision it pulsed with chakra as though it were a beating heart. Naruto watched his wife and the tree line for any intruders.

"What is it?" Hinata said as she reached out a hand towards it.

"Don't touch it!" Shouted a mysterious feminine voice. Out of the shadows lept a slim figure with a cloak flapping behind them in the wind. She twisted in the air and pulled out a kunai. With precision, the figure threw the kunai into the top of the glowing box. It hissed and thick blue smoke poured from the wound. Naruto quickly grabbed his wife around her middle and sailed into the air just out of reach of the swirling blue cloud. The couple landed softly on one of the undamaged tree branches.

"Poison?"

"I'm not sure." Hinata answered.

"Do you see that girl?" Naruto said, his eyes glued to the smoke.

"Yes, she's there, but... it's like she's fighting, but there is no one else there!" As if to bring truth to Hinata's words the mysterious kunoichi jumped into the air, clear of the smoke. In her hand she clutched a kunai. She held it before her as though she were pressing it against some invisible force. A clang of metal on metal pierced the air and sparks littered the space before her as she fought against a seemingly non-existent foe. With a blow that went unseen the young woman crashed into the trunk of a tree. She moved her head in time before some force made an indentation where her face use to be. She rolled across the ground and jumped up onto her feet, blade held before her in a defencive stance. With no warning another clash of metal rang out and the girl was running.

Naruto searched the air but could not see her attacker. He could see nothing and it was obvious the girl needed help. "What do we do?" He yelled out to the ninja.

"The strings!" She yelled as she pushed off another trunk of a tree and sailed through the air. "You have to cut them!" She threw three kunai with explosive tags in her wake. One hit the unseen target and exploded. "Don't touch them!" The girl huffed as she dropped down from a branch onto the ground. She ran with a balled up fist towards the enemy that only she could see. "And don't use chakra." Her fist slammed into the ground and it splintered beneath her fist. The attack seemed to do nothing though as something caught the girl by her chin and sent her sailing through the air.

"I'll do it Naruto." Hinata said and cut the closest string to her. She jumped from glowing string to string slicing as she went.

The girl in the middle looked like a ragdoll being tossed from side to side. Before she could collide with a boulder Naruto caught her. She looked up at him with blue eyes, one already swelling with a nasty shade of purple. "To your left!" She yelled out in warning. Naruto swung around and let the back of his first collide with whatever was there. He felt a crunch under his first but before he could reach out and grab the assailant they had disappeared from him again.

"Last one!" Hinata called.

"Break the box!" the girl cradled in Naruto's arms cried. With a single leap Naruto closed the distance and crushed the box with the swirling power of his signature rasengan.

The girl, battered and beat up, looked down at the now plain smashed wooden box and then around the battlefield.

With relief she said, "It's gone."

"It? What is it?" Naruto asked turning the exhausted girl so she could look at him. Despite her lumps and bruises forming he could see that she was a pretty girl that looked to be around his own children's age.

"I don't know everything. I'm too tired. I'll tell you about it later… dad." And with her final words the girl drifted into a deep sleep. Naruto shook his head, not sure that he had heard right. _Dad? _The girl must have injured herself more than he thought.

He heard a soft thump on the ground as the former Hyuga joined him. "Did she say anything? Is she alright?" His wife's words brought him out of his confusion.

"Oh, no, nothing that made sense. But I should take her to Sakura to make sure she's okay."

"Yes, you're right."

"Stay here, help Shikamaru get anything he needs. He starts working on this immediately."

"I'll get everything started." Hinata said and turned towards the crime scene.

Naruto looked at the body collapsed in his arms. Cradling her carefully so she wouldn't jostle too much on the journey he leaped into the air. It didn't take long to find Sakura, Naruto could hear her barking orders to her medical nin from a mile away.

"Get an IV to bed four. I have a broken arm on bed nine. Midori, you have stitches on 16! Go! And we'll need more clean water, so get moving!" Sakura commanded. Still, after all these years, Naruto was impressed by his best friend's ability to perform when it came to savings lives. The scar on his ribcage itched at the thought of it.

"Sakura." Naruto called.

"Give me a minut-" Sakura was about to finish when she turned and saw the battered girl in his arms. "Put her here." She motioned to an open cot. "What happened?" she asked as she checked the girls pulse and looked into the unswollen eye's pupil.

"Not sure." Naruto didn't miss the glare that Sakura shot at him but continued anyway. "She was fighting nothing. There was no one there but she was being tossed around like garbage. I made contact, once, but they vanished."

"A cloaking jutsu?" Sakura guessed as she scanned the girl's body for the most severe wounds.

"I thought so. But even Hinata couldn't see the person. No chakra." Naruto explained lamely.

"That doesn't make sense." She pressed her hands against the kunoichi's mid-section and sent healing waves into her bleeding organs. "Some trick we don't know yet huh? Well, it's been a dull couple of years."

"Peace boring you, Sakura-chan?" Naruto teased.

Sakura looked around her makeshift medical station, "Guess not. I could always do without this."

"Mom!" Both former Team 7 members looked over to see Sarada and Bolt arrive at the scene.

"Sarada, her shoulder, the tendon is ripped." It was all Sakura needed to tell her daughter for Sarada to join in the healing process.

"Who is she?" Sarada asked looking down at the unknown kunoichi.

"The enemy?" Bolt asked looking to his father for the answer.

"Not sure." Naruto didn't miss the glare his son shot him either. Maybe Bolt had learned more than chakra control from Sakura. "She didn't say much before she fainted." Naruto continued ignoring his son. "I'll have Ino talk to her once she is awake."

"Ino will like that. She hasn't been able to use her interrogation skills in a while." Sarada said.

"Aunt Ino." Sakura corrected.

"Do I really have to call her that even when she's not around?" Sarada whined annoyed.

Sakura just shrugged. "You tell me what happens if she finds out."

"Ugh, overbearing pig of an aunt!"

Naruto just laughed at the mother-daughter antics. "I'll leave this girl in your care then, Sakura-chan. Please, contact Ino and I as soon as she wakes."

"Yes boss." Sakura said smiling.

While the Uchiha women focused on their healing, Naruto motioned for Bolt to follow him. As the two walked away Naruto said, "Let's go see what Shikamaru figured out."

* * *

"There's not a trace left in the box, Shikamaru-kun. No Chakra at all." Hinata said while closely observing the box her husband destroyed.

"Thanks, Hinata." Shikamaru said already lost in thought.

"Shikamaru." Naruto called as he and his son arrived.

"Hokage." Shikamaru answered simply.

"Figured it out yet?" Naruto asked as he stood at his wife's side.

"I have a theory. I'll need to speak with Sakura about it." He said and lit a cigarette.

"Can I have one?" Bolt asked looking at the white stick hanging from his mentor's lip.

"No." Both his parents answered for Shikamaru.

Shikamaru ignored the troublesome antics of the teen and continued on topic. "I'm thinking this has might be related to Sakura's Hundred Seal or something similar to Sasori's chakra heart, the way the chakra was stored. I'll make some headway once she answers some of my questions."

"She's pretty busy at the moment. They are more injured than we thought." Naruto explained.

Hinata interjected, "I'll go see if I can help Sakura then." And she jumped away and into the night.

"Is this serious, Shika?" Naruto asked crossing his arms.

Shikamaru took another long drag on his tobacco stick. "I can't say. From what I got from Hinata, you guys were told not to touch it while it was infused with chakra. I don't know what kind of threat it is if I don't know what would have happened if you did. I'll have to talk to the mystery woman too."

"I'll already have it set up for Ino to meet her as soon as she wakes up."

"Good, I'll brief Ino on what information I need." Shikamaru announced and put his hands in his pockets. "See you around kid." Shikamaru said to Bolt before leaving the scene as well.

Naruto watched as each of the evidence pieces were picked up and carefully bagged to be taken to the interrogation and evidence headquarters.

"Dad, you're gonna let me go too, right?" Bolt asked. He wanted so much to be included in his father's work. He wanted to see how the Hokage office ran and how dangerous situations were dealt with.

Naruto looked down at his son. This would be a great opportunity for the young Hokage hopeful. But something was still scraping at the back of his skull.

_Dad._

Naruto wanted to clear up that misunderstanding first before he introduced his sensitive son to the situation. Something was causing unease to stir in his gut.

"We'll see." was all Naruto could say.

Bolt kicked a rock and it skittered away from him. His father's 'we'll see' was as good as a 'no'. Well, there were other ways to get information.

* * *

"Let's get everyone in the hospital" Sakura instructed.

The village had been cleared of any enemies. The perimeter was being watched and patrolled. Trackers had been sent into the surrounding forest and the villagers had been sent home. One by one the injured had been carried by Sai's ink beasts to the hospital.

"Mom."

"What is it Sarada? Did she wake up?" Sakura asked making her way to her daughter.

"No, but look ma." Sarada said and motioned to the slumbering girl. Now that they were indoors and the white light of the overhead light fixtures illuminated the girl that had been hidden in shadows all night they could finally see her clearly. Her black leggings were ripped or torn at the knees. She wore a fitted mint green top that hugged her figure. The dark gray cloak still pinned to her shoulders was in tatters. But none of that stood out like the long strands of light pink hair flowing from her scalp down to her waist.

"Just like yours." Sarada said almost touching it and then thinking better of it.

"Yeah, you don't see too many people with pink hair, huh?"

"I wonder who she is…"

"Me too, dear, me too."

* * *

Thank you! Thank you for reading! I'm so excited to slowly introduce some new characters. And as truths unfold see how the canon people react! Yay!

I'd really love some reviews. Especially since this is my first fanfic. Tee hee!


	3. Chapter 3

((It's a short chapter, I'm sorry. I was just too busy this weekend, but I do have some fun ideas for this Thursday's chapter. Thank you for reading!))

* * *

"Pink hair, huh?" Bolt repeated absentmindedly. "Interesting."

Sarada stopped her fiddling with the couple of strands of his blond hair. "Interesting? That's it? A mysterious kunoichi, who appears on the same night of an attack, who has no indicator of where she comes from, who has pink hair, and all you can say is interesting?"

"That's because it _is_ interesting." He answered bored.

Annoyed with his apparent lack of interest Sarada pushed the young man's head out of her lap.

"Ow!" he yelped as his head hit the stone bench. He sat up and rubbed the back of his head. He looked over at his companion and grimaced. "You didn't have to do that."

She just huffed at him before leaning back on her palms. Her mother and the other medic nin had been up all night tending to the wounded. And while they had focused on the mysterious girl she remained in a coma. Now the whole village was holding their breath waiting for the girl to wake up, to find out if she was friend or foe. The time of peace had lasted for such a long time. Now that it was being threatened the people were anxious.

"Why are you worried?"

"I'm not." Sarada answered.

"Yeah, okay." Bolt retorted.

The young woman sighed. "Fine. I'm worried. But I can't put my finger on it. I don't know, ugh!" She squeezed her eyes shut as though she were trying to shut out her confusion.

"Stop stressing. There is nothing to worry about. She hasn't even woken up yet and there has been no other signs of attack." Bolt tried to calm down his irate friend while simultaneously re-claiming his place on her lap. He settled his head and stretched to get comfortable for his afternoon nap.

* * *

The pink haired mystery girl sat up straight amongst the wires and tubes pinned to her body. With a quick flick of her arms they were ripped away and the medical machines lined up around her went into a panic. Blue eyes took in the room around her. Plain white walls and drab furnishings were all that decorated the room. But what really caught her attention where the tags sticking to the doors and windows. So, she wouldn't be leaving by conventional means.

A quick analysis of her person showed her that she wasn't in bad shape. Whoever had healed her had done a superb job. The young woman swung her legs over the edge of the bed. Before she could even reach the ground the door swung open and in the light stood a silhouette of a woman.

"So you finally woke up, huh? You were out for a while there." said the cautious voice.

"Judging from the equipment at least a couple of days." she answered while stretching out her stiff shoulders.

The woman stopped just for a second. "Yes, two days, to be exact." she finally answered. "What's your name?"

"Huh? What you mean? It's me, Hanami." The young kunoichi said finally standing up. Her legs were as sore as her shoulders.

"And am I suppose to know you, miss Hanami?" Sakura said as she finally stepped into the light of the room.

The younger pink haired girl just looked up almost amused. She chuckled lightly at the older woman. "What are you talking about? It's funny when dad does stuff like that, but it's really unexpected of you, mom."

"Excuse me?" Was all Sakura was able to reply. She looked at the younger ninja, suddenly on the defensive. The medic pooled chakra into her fists, ready to use them in case the delusional teen tried anything. But all the young girl did was look at Sakura with wide, curious, blue eyes. Sakura was glad she had alerted Ino when the alarms had gone off. Her best friend would be here shortly to make sense of who the young woman was and what she wanted.

Pink brows knitted over confused eyes, "Mom?" She took a step closer. "Mom, what's wrong, why are you acting so weird? Is something going on? What's happening?"

"Stay there." Sakura said, bringing her fists up. The young girl, Hanami, really seemed confused, and Sakura wanted to refrain from hurting her if possible.

"Where's dad?" She looked about the room, "I don't get this."

"Sakura!" Came Ino's voice from down the hall. The kunoichi sprinted down the hallway and skidded to a halt next to her companion. "That's her?"

"Yes. Put her down." Sakura yelled.

Ino's hands shot up before her and she placed her pointed fingers and her thumbs together.

"Wait! No, don't do it Aunt In-" But the girl couldn't finish before the jutsu hit her and she lost consciousness again. Sakura rushed forward and caught the girl before she hit the floor. Ino watched the pair of pink headed ladies in awe.

"Did I just hear what I thought I heard?" Ino asked with her hand on her hip.

"What did you hear?" Sakura said not giving anything away. She picked the girl up in her arms and made her way to the door.

"Aunt? You heard it. You had to! She definitely was about to call me Aunt Ino." Ino said as she made way for Sakura in the hallway.

"That's not the craziest thing she has said today." Sakura said exasperated.

Ino followed her friend down the hall, hopping after her. "What else did she say then?"

"Let's just get her to interrogation and you can ask her." Sakura said hosting the girl up in her arms again. Ino instantly sobered. If there was anything Ino truly took seriously it was her work and her family.

* * *

((Again thank you! And if you have time, please leave me a few words. Thank you!))


	4. Chapter 4

Hello! I apologize that I have taken so long to get this chapter out. I'll be honest though, I was so pissed off by Naruto Gaiden. I wasn't happy with the ending but I came to terms with it. But really?! That's how you're going to treat Sakura? She doesn't deserve that! My poor favorite character! I was so done with Naruto and the horrendous treatment of all the characters. I mean poor Sakura, but also, poor Sarada, poor Bolt, poor Naruto, poor everybody. Gah!

But...

I've decided to keep writing. Someone has to treat these characters nicely. Might as well be me. So, I'll keep writing. I don't know how often I'll get chapters out. But when I write I'll update it here. I promise. If you decided to stick around, I just want to thank you. Thank you so much for reading my dribbles. It means a lot.

Now on to the story!

* * *

"Ugh..not cool, Ino!" The young woman said as she roused from her forced sleep. Blue eyes slowly focused the room around them. Hanami tried to raise her hand to rub the sleep from her eyes but when she reached up she was restricted. Tight bands confined Hanami to an uncomfortable metal chair. A bright spotlight shone overhead focusing all attention on her.

Sakura and Ino watched from the shadows. They watched as confusion, anger and sadness flittered across the young girl's face. Her brows were knitted together and her eyes searched the shadows for answers.

"I don't care what kind of dumb prank you think this is, but you've gone too far this time, Aunt Ino." The girl said pissed. She pulled against the restraints but they would not give. Her face contorted with the intensity of her effort but still nothing. "And cutting off my chakra! What Hyuuga agreed to this?!"

Ino and Sakura looked over at the Hyuuga Jonin that had helped them close the young girl's chakra flow. As the girl spoke the pair of Kunoichi became increasingly more worried. The stranger knew more about the ninja of Konoha and their techniques than what was comfortable.

"Better get started." Ino said stepping forward. Sakura nodded and moved out of the room with the Hyuuga to watch behind the two way mirror.

Hanami blinked as Ino stepped into the light. "There you are! Let me out. This isn't funny anymore." But Hanami stilled when she saw the look of unfamiliarity plastered on Ino's face. "Ino?"

"What's your name?"

"This again? Really? Is it my birthday or something? Why is everyone being weird?" Hanami said pulling on her restraints again.

"Your name!" Ino commanded with more force.

"HA-NA-MI!" She punctuated each syllable. "You've known me since birth! You were at my birth! You changed my diaper and taught me about flowers! You taught me how to kiss boys!" She yelled out in exasperation at the older woman.

Ino colored at the accusations. But she remained calm. No matter what, an interrogator had to keep control of the situation. She brushed back her hair with her hand before continuing, "There is only one problem with all of that… I don't know you. I've never met you. I've never taught you about flowers or boys, because I don't know you. So one more time, who are you?"

"I told you, I am Hanami, Hanami Uzumaki. Daughter of the Hokage and the top Medical Nin. I'm 18 years old and been a ninja for most my life. I became a chunin at age 13 and am this close to being a jonin under _your_ recommendation. And I am sick of this joke, Aunt Ino. Now where is my mother?" Hanami snapped.

"And just who is your mother?" Ino asked still trying to understand what angle the girl was trying to play.

"Are you serious? Sakura, Sakura Uzumaki is my mother. And the Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki, is my father. You've made me call you Aunt Ino since I could talk! The 6th is my godfather! I work part time in Tenten sensei's weapon shop! I am Hanami Uzumaki and you know me!" Tears were gathering in the corners of the young girl's eyes.

"Wait here." Ino said and turned her back to the crying girl.

"No! Don't go! I know what you're doing. This is some tactic to break me. Don't leave me here in the dark." Hanami pleaded with Ino's back.

Ino answered by turning off the lights.

Hanami whimpered.

Sakura blinked, dazed.

Ino entered the watching room.

"She's crazy." Sakura said quietly.

"She's telling the truth." Ino answered.

"Impossible." Sakura scoffed.

"You'd think. But I've got every truth detector rigged up in that room and she is telling the truth. Well, what she perceives is the truth at least." She explained as she leaned against the windowpane and stared into the dark room. "She believes that you are her mother. And the history she has explained is real to her."

Sakura also looked into the dark abyss, "How?"

"Some kind of mental Jutsu." Ino guessed. "Maybe someone implanted her with false memories. Maybe she is some sort of experiment to infiltrate Konoha without being detected. Or…"

"What?" Sakura asked shaken.

"...Or, maybe she is your daughter?" Ino whispered.

"Now you're the crazy one." Sakura said not pleased with Ino's jest.

"There is one way to find out. Take a DNA test."

"Why?" Sakura gasped.

Ino turned to her best friend, "Don't take this the wrong way." Ino waited to see that her emotional friend wouldn't do just that. "She says she's your and Naruto's kid. And to be honest, when I was in there, looking at her face, all I could think was, she looks just like Sakura and Naruto. So, I say, take the DNA test. We either learn that you and Naruto were closer than everyone thought, or we have definitive proof to show her that she is wrong and we can start to help her unlock this mystery. It just seems like an easy way to get an answer." Ino said as she turned back to the dark room.

"It'll take a couple hours. We've already got some of her blood." Sakura finally said after a moment of silence.

"I knew you would."

Sakura stopped, "Let's not mention this to Naruto just yet."

"You want me to keep this from the Hokage? After he gave me a direct order?"

"Yeah."

Ino only thought about it for a moment, "Okay, but dinner is on you."

"I wouldn't expect anything less." Sakura said as she trotted out of the room with the Hyuuga following behind.

* * *

Hinata took the lasagna she had spent the day preparing out of the oven. She held it before her face and sniffed at the food she had prepared. It was perfect. It sat on the countertop to cool.

"Something smells good." Naruto poked his head into the kitchen.

Himawari poked her head from behind her father, "It sure does."

"You two just now getting back?" Hinata pretended to chastise. She pulled off her oven mitts and faced her two goofballs.

"Well, we had to help this old lady across the street…" Hima started.

"Because there was a flood in the street…" Naruto continued.

"Yeah! Started by a visiting craftsman from the Land of Water."

"Who was visiting his long lost twin brother!"

"Yes, A long lost brother who...who…" Hima looked at her father for support.

"Who breeds sharks!" Naruto filled in.

"And GIANT SQUIDS!" Himawari finished with a flourish.

Hinata looked from excited face to excited face. She was used to her family's shenanigans but these two were acting more outrageous than usual. And then it hit her. "You ate at Ichiraku's." It wasn't a questions. The wife of the most powerful man in Konoha watched her husband's face fall with guilt. Himawari mirrored her father's expression.

"Guess I'll be packing this up for lunches tomorrow." Hinata sighed in defeat.

"Sorry, mom."

"Sorry, dear." Naruto tiptoed towards his wife to try and make amends. Hima knew that her father would be able to work the smile back onto her mother's face, so she decided to leave him to it. The youngest Uzumaki climbed the stairs towards her room. But half way up she heard a knock at the door.

"I got it!" She called out to her distracted parents.

Himawari skipped over to the door with her mother's inherited grace. She pulled on the heavy wooden door. It creaked open letting the evening light spill across the floor. Silhouetted in the light was a member of the Hyuga clan. "Yes?" Himawari asked the silent figure.

"Lady Hanabi Hyuga wishes to speak to her sister." The silent female finally spoke.

Himawari leaned back to steal a peek at her parents still recovering from her father's betrayal. With a flip of her dark tresses, Himawari turned back to her imposing visitor. "She's, um, busy."

Without skipping a beat the older Hyuga said, "It is an emergency, tell Lady Hinata she must report to the main house now." And without a warning the Kunoichi dashed away hidden among the roof tops of the city.

Himawari closed the door slowly confused. She turned to the kitchen and called, "Hey, mom."

* * *

Sakura sat on the hospital bench holding the crinkled pages in her hand. She had had the test made a top priority and the results had been turned in to her within two hours. When they had handed her the white envelope she had been so sure of what would be inside. Now her stomach turned with the truth. There was no arguing with a 99.9% chance of relation. The pink haired girl was somehow connected to her. But not as a child, that was impossible. Only one babe had even come from her womb. Sakura knew this with every fiber of her being. Which meant that the explanation behind this weird circumstance was a scary one. Things like DNA manipulation, advanced cloning, and the like flitted through her mind.

"Dr. Uchiha?"

Sakura was startled by the sudden interruption. She looked up to see one of the younger medical nins calling for her attention. The look of extreme caution was one Sakura was used to now. All the new members of the medical field were told by their seniors about Sakura's infamous temper. Despite how much better she was now. Well, better in her own opinion.

"What is it?" Sakura said trying to curb the annoyance in her voice.

"There has been a message from the interrogation office. Mrs. Ino has requested your presence immediately." The young nurse was able to get out without much difficulty.

"Is that all the message said?" Sakura asked this time failing miserably to hide her annoyance.

"Yes." The frightened man squeaked out.

Sakura huffed but said, "Fine." She stuffed her pages into her shoulder bag and pushed past the young man unknowingly starting another wildfire rumor about her temper in the process.

* * *

((Well, that's it. I hope it's enough to keep you interested. What does Hanabi want, and what new thing has Ino learned? Come back next time to find out! Reviews are a welcomed gift! Thank you again!))


	5. Chapter 5

Hi everyone!

I got another chapter out pretty quickly, and it's the longest one so far. It's a lot of talking but I promise the next couple of chapters will have more action!

I hope you guys like this story so far! It's about to get more interesting, well, in my opinion it is. Let me know what you think please. And if you see any glaring mistakes please let me know.

* * *

The wind was unusually strong that day. It whipped through the tall buildings lining each street. Fallen leaves and free trash tumbled across the ground. People were hunched over trying to force their way through the offending breeze. Chōchō held onto her groceries as though she were a protective mother shielding her precious children.

Sarada walked alongside her friend with her arms clasped behind her back. "My mom won't tell me anything about the girl. I mean she was in the hospital a couple of days ago and now she is just gone. They aren't telling us something." Sarada paused to see what her friend thought of the issue. But when Sarada turned to her plump friend she saw that Chōchō was not paying her any attention. Sarada sighed in frustration. "You're just like Bolt."

"What?" Chōchō exclaimed finally hearing something her friend had said.

Sarada cooled her temper with a deep breath. Being an deep feeling Uchiha with an overly emotional mother meant that she would be battling to keep control of her own emotions for the rest of her life.

She started again, "This girl, this mysterious girl that no one knows, just shows up during the attack, and now she is gone. And no one will tell me anything. Not mom, not Aunt Ino, not the 6th, no one!" Sarada swung her hands about to emphasize her point. She looked at her friend and the bags she was carrying. "You sure you don't want me to help you carry that?"

"I've got it." Chōchō answered as she adjusted her grip on the brown paper bags. In truth, she thought her friend was too distracted to be trusted with such a task.

Sarada just shrugged and continued her previous train of thought as they turned down another street that led to the Akimichi household, "I mean it's just weird. It's like they are pretending like she doesn't exist. Mom keeps leaving randomly. Inojin says his mom has been working more than usual lately. I know they must be doing something with her."

Chōchō let the other kunoichi work through her own thoughts. Whenever Sarada got worked up over something it was always best to let her smooth her thoughts out before trying to interfere. Soon enough Chōchō saw just that come to fruition as Sarada's face reflected her inner emotions.

"Do you think I should try to find her?" Sarada asked, though she was still deep in thought.

"No." Chōchō answered quickly. "No. I've been dragged into your other adventures and it never means anything good. So, no, let the grownups handle this one. Your mom will tell you whats up when she thinks it's time." Chōchō advised, for once being the voice of reason between the two.

"I know but shouldn't they-"

"How's Bolt?" Chōchō interjected, quickly changing the topic.

"What?" Sarada asked slightly taken off balance by the question.

The two girls stopped and looked at each other for a second, each one trying to size the other one up. Sarada's dark eyes watched her friend wondering just how much the other ninja actually knew. After all she had been so careful.

"You two have been training a lot together. I was just wondering how that was going." Chōchō accused with a lilt of aloofness to her voice. She started towards her home again and Sarada followed her lead. It had worked before and it was working now. For some reason the glasses wearing kunoichi got defensive each time the blond haired, whisker bearing son of the hokage was brought up.

Sarada lifted an eyebrow before answering simply, "We're on the same team. It makes sense for us to train so much together. Plus the Uchiha and Uzumaki families have always been close. Just like Ino-Shika-Cho."

"Oh, I guess you're right. We just don't spend as much time training as you guys do. You're pretty dedicated." Chōchō clucked smugly. The girls stopped in front of Chōchō home.

Sarada smirked, "Well, you're not dealing with an idiot like I am." And then she turned on her heel and walked away.

* * *

Bolt shuddered in his father's office. He didn't feel cold but something had worked it's way down his spine. He shook himself to be rid of the feeling. He then turned to his father bent over stacks of paper, "So are you going to tell me?"

Naruto continued scribbling something nearly illegible on the page as he asked, "Tell you what, Bolt?" Naruto took the crisp page and handed to a shinobi in a mask. In a flash the masked man was gone.

Bolt tried not to get too irritated at his father. After all the man was working and Bolt needed to be patient. "About mom, why does Aunt Hinabi want to see her?"

Naruto stopped for a second and leaned back in his leather chair. He looked up at the ceiling as though some answer would be written up there. A bandaged hand came up to support the Hokage's chin. It was a posture Bolt had seen his father hold a thousand times before. It was Naruto's thinking pose.

"Hmmm, I'm not sure. But if it was really important I think Hanabi would invite me as well." Naruto decided satisfied with his answer. He turned back to the pile of work waiting for him on his desk. Bolt, however, was not satisfied.

"Well, if you had to take a wild guess what do you think she wants? I mean, it wasn't an invitation, it was a summons!" Bolt exclaimed gesturing wildly. The Hokage's son wondered how his father could take such little interest in this.

Naruto finally looked at his son. "If it's important your mother and I will handle it. But I assume it is some sort of Hyuga business that Hanabi doesn't think I need to know about." Naruto saw his son was still not pleased so he added, "Why don't you ask your mother if you're so worried."

Bolt knew his father was done with the conversation. The 7th had already worked things out in his own mind so there was no use still worrying about it. So Bolt decided to drop it. And bring up another topic of interested instead. Not that he was interested, just his 'kinda' girlfriend.

"So what about this new girl?" Bolt asked leaning against his father's desk. The old desk which had served many Hokages was covered in papers and scrolls, laptops and phones, ramen cups and drinks. Bolt resigned to keep his desk in neat order when he took the mantle in his father's place.

Naruto stopped his work again and looked at his son in an accusing way, "What about the new girl?"

Bolt blinked in confusion at his father's reaction. "Well…" he started, "Who is she? Is she the bad guy? Where does she come from? What's her favorite color?"

Naruto laughed at the last bit and relaxed. "We're not too sure yet son. She seems like she is pretty confused about things. We're trying to help her work things out."

"So where is she?" Bolt asked.

"In good hands." His father responded vaguely.

"Are you going to tell me anything or am I being led by the nose here?"

"Led by the nose, huh? You're starting to sound like your mother."

"And that's still not an answer." Bolt retorted.

A moment of silence passed between the Uzumaki men. Naruto didn't want to say too much about the mysterious pink haired girl until he figured out just who she was, or better yet, who she thought she was. There was no need to pull in anyone else until Ino got some answers. Bolt, on the other hand, watched his father debating what should and shouldn't be shared.

Naruto leaned towards his son and perked a single golden eyebrow. "Why are you so interested in her, she your type or something?"

Bolt instantly colored to his ears. He jumped away from his father's desk and yelled, "No!"

"I don't know…" Naruto murmered leaning back again, "You never take this much interest in other things."

"Stuff like this doesn't usually happen!" Bolt fought back.

"You've just started asking a lot of questions all of the sudden. You sure you're not-" but the seventh hokage was cut off.

"No! I'm not." Bolt interjected. "And I was... asking for someone else." But even that sounded lame to his own ears.

"Oh, I see, asking for someone else." Naruto picked up a stack of documents and started to stack them in a neat order against the desk. "Well, then, that makes sense."

Bolt just growled in frustration. His father knew exactly what buttons to push. Bolt stomped over to the door and pulled it open with a huff, "She's not even my type, stupid old man!" And then the young man slammed the door behind him. Even through the shut door Bolt could hear his father's chuckling. His ears burned even more but he muttered, "I don't need help in that department." _I think._

* * *

"You're finally here." Ino said sarcastically to her best friend.

"It's so windy out there! People are being blown about the city. I stopped to help someone right their stall. There were all these sweet buns rolling about the street." Sakura recalled motioning in the air. Hanging at her side was a bag of said sweet buns. "The old woman gave me some if you want any."

Ino gave the bag a snide look, "Were those the ones on the ground?"

Sakura just dropped the bag to her side and looked at her friend exasperated. "Yes, Ino, these are the buns that were rolling through the street." Sakura answered just as sarcastic as her friend. "If you don't want any that's fine, Sarada will like them. You know, she always tries to say she doesn't like sweets like her father, but I always catch her with something sweet after dinner."

Ino just laughed, "Inojin is the same way! He gives his father such a tough time about his 'old school' drawing style, but I've caught him trying to emulate his father's paintings late at night before. Kids man, who knew they were such complex creatures?"

"Where we this finicky when we were kids?" Sakura asked.

"Of course not!"

Both women started to chuckle. Sakura quickly sobered up first though. "I know you have news but so do I."

"You are related to her." Ino guessed.

"I am." Sakura answered. She paused for only a moment before adding, "And so is Naruto."

"So you did check…" Ino trailed off.

Sakura sighed and finally took a seat across from her life-long friend. "I did. There was no reason not to. That girl in there is… is…" Sakura couldn't find the right word.

"Your daughter." Ino offered.

"No!" Sakura blurted, "I mean, no. I have one daughter, Sarada. I don't know this person."

"So you and Naruto never… you know." Ino made an obscene motion with her hands.

"No! Ino!" Sakura blurted getting angry.

"Okay, okay. Just had to be asked. Now we know. We can cross that off the list of possible answers." Ino reasoned trying to do damage control.

"You're getting as blunt as your husband!" Sakura accused.

Ino shrugged and then placed a hand on her friend's knee. "Now we just need to figure this out. We're all going to get to the bottom of this."

Sakura took a deep breath to calm her racing heart. It was amazing that her rival could still get under her skin like that. "And your news?" Sakura inquired trying to move on.

Ino widened her eyes like she always did when she had good gossip. She turned in her swivel chair and grabbed something off of her desk. When she turned back to Sakura she held a recorder in her hands. "I recorded my discussion with Hanami earlier. Listen to this." Ino pressed the red play button on the front of the machine.

"_So you say Sakura is your mother and Naruto is your father. But they don't remember you." Ino's voice came over the recorder._

"_That's because they are my parents! If you just tell them to come see me!" The young girl's voice sounded distressed. "I don't know why they don't remember me. Something strange is going on!"_

_Footsteps on a cold cement ground rang out as sharp notes. _

_ . Click. Click._

"_You want to see your parents, that's it right? Then you have to give me more information." Ino bargened. "What was that chakra box? Why were you there during the attack? How did you know how to fight it? We need answers!"_

_The sound of sniffling could be heard. "I don't know. My brother knew more than I did. I just did what he said. He -" _

_The girl was cut off, "Brother?" Ino asked shocked. "You have a brother?"_

"_Yes! I've been trying to find him! But I can't sense him." Another large sob. "I just want to find my family, please Aunt Ino, help me."_

That's when Ino stopped the tape recorder.

Sakura stared at the offending machine. "There are two of them…" Sakura finally muttered.

Ino placed the machine back on her desk. "It seems so. I know I said I would wait to tell Naruto what's going on but if there is another one of them out there he has to know. We don't know what kind of threat these kids are."

Sakura shook her head, "No, you're right. We have to tell Naruto."

Ino sighed in relief. "I'd hope you'd see it that way because I just got a scroll from Naruto saying he wants to meet."

"I'm coming too." Sakura informed her friend.

"I thought so." Ino stood and walked to the door which she opened for her friend. "Well this turned out to be an interesting week."

* * *

The 7th Hokage looked at the semi-circle of people standing before his desk. His advisor Shikamaru stood to the far left with his arms crossed against his broad chest. Kakashi stood behind him, a silent watcher of the current hokage's proceedings. Sakura stood right before him, never quite making eye contact with her old teammate. Next was Ino and Sai standing close to one another. Probably communicating silently in that weird way they seemed to always do. The blond haired leader stared at his peers with tired blue eyes.

"Please, someone, tell me we have some answers." Naruto requested already starting to rub his temples.

Shikamaru looked at the other's lined up across from him. No one seemed to want to take the plunge so he uncrossed his arms and took a step closer. "After investigating the battle scene and the evidence left there wasn't much for us to pull on. We do know that the explosion was caused by a sudden appearance of a large amount of chakra. But we were unable to locate the source of chakra. On the box there was no seal or markings that would warrant that amount of chakra being stored in such a simple container." Shikamaru motioned towards Sakura. "I spoke to Sakura about her Hundredth Seal and Saori's heart, but both examples require a living specimen to generate the chakra. My team and I are still doing research to see if there is any relic similar to this one."

Naruto just shook his head in understanding. "And the invisible man?"

"There is no trace of him. Besides the damage from his fight with Jane Doe we have no evidence of his existence."

"I struck him to. I know something was there." Naruto added as though he were trying to legitimize the young girl's claims.

"Well, I doubt we will be able to get any more information unless they attempt another attack." Shikamaru concluded. "That being said, it seems as though we are not the only ones being attacked in this manner. I've been communicating with the Kazekage's men and it seems like they have experienced something similar. They are sending me all the information they have as we speak."

"Gaara, he was attacked too?" Naruto asked puzzled.

"The attack was a bit further out of the city. There was only one injury to the chunin that found the pot." Shikamaru explained.

"A pot?" Sakura asked before continuing, "That means the vessel could be anything."

"Precisely." Shikamaru confirmed. "I won't be able to progress in my research until I hear more from the Sand Village."

Naruto grasped in his chin and shook his head in agreement. "Understood. Good work so far. Let me know what Gaara's people say." Naruto then turned towards Ino. "And what about the girl? Did you figure anything else out?"

Ino stepped forward and pushed her blond hair behind her shoulder. "I've run every test I could think of. This girl is under no jutsu. They only other thing that I can think of is that there might have been some medical procedure. But Sakura says she did a thorough investigation of her medical condition when she was brought in. She would have noticed something then."

Naruto looked at Sakura for confirmation.

"It's true." Sakura answered. "I can do a follow up examination but…"

"But what?" Naruto asked, a single eyebrow perking up.

"But there is something a bit more pressing than that." Ino answered for her friend.

Naruto leaned back in his chair. He looked from one kunoichi to the other. The friends had a habit of causing mischief when they had secrets. The hokage was ready for just that when he asked, "And what is more pressing than figuring out who this young woman is and what kind of threat she poses?"

Ino looked sideways at her best friend. It wouldn't be easy telling Naruto what they had discovered. Ino took in a deep breath and started, "Sakura conducted a DNA test, and well, the kunoichi has almost the exact same genetic make-up as Sakura."

Naruto's eyes widened. It wasn't the news he had expected to hear, to say the least. He searched his old teammate's face. There she stood across the room, still refusing to meet his eye in a very stubborn way. He turned back towards Ino. "Meaning?" He asked her.

"Sakura and the girl are related." Sai said simply, as though it were of no consequence.

"Related? Related how?" Naruto asked now standing.

Ino tried to make eye contact with her friend again but Sakura would not budge from her rigid stance. _You're really going to make me tell him?! You are going to own me more than dinner!_

"We aren't sure, but that's not it." Ino informed the group. "Hanami claims to be Uzumaki Hanami. She thinks she is your and Sakura's daughter. Sakura tested their DNA and there was a match. But Sakura also tested your DNA against the girl's." The silence in the room was thick and palpable. Everyone was waiting for Ino to tell them what they already knew. "The test came back positive. Hanami is somehow related to both of you."

Each person in the room reacted differently to the news. Shikamaru bowed his head and started to rub his forehead as though he was already recalculating. Kakashi didn't bother to hide his wide eyed stare as he looked back and forth between his two former students. Sai didn't seem bothered in the least bit. Ino was breathing heavily as though some great weight had just been lifted from her shoulders.

Then there was Sakura. She stood in the middle of the room silent but with the lightest tinge of pink coloring the tips of her ears. She quickly brushed her equally as pink hair behind one of her ears. She knew that this was going to complicate things. The most important thing was to stay calm and come up with a reasonable explanation.

Naruto looked at Ino with wide eyes and a slightly gaping mouth. His blue eyes took in each person's reaction one at a time. He swallowed and then admitted to the group, "She called me dad the first time we met." He then looked directly at Sakura, "But that isn't possible."

"Of course not." Sakura agreed.

It seemed as the two were trying to convince the group.

Sai just blurted, "So you guys never had sex or a secret child?"

Ino hit her husband on the arm, hard.

"What?" Sai complained while rubbing the sore spot. " When we were team 7 it seemed pretty obvious that they- Ow!"

Ino had punched her husband harder.

"We've already ruled that out." Ino hissed.

"So we figure out how exactly she came to be and we-" Naruto started but was cut off again.

"Actually, that still isn't the most pressing thing." Ino interjected.

"There's more?!" Naruto scoffed unbelievingly.

Sakura just spit it out, "She has a brother."

"There's two?" Shikamaru blurted, again the wheels in his mind started to turn. His eyebrow met as he frowned heavily. It was too troublesome.

Naruto met his friend's eyes for the first time. "So there is another?"

Ino stepped forward instead of Sakura. "We think. It's highly likely though. She says she can sense his chakra but wouldn't give me an exact location."

Naruto turned towards Sai. "Send out your ink beasts in every direction. I need to know the moment you find anything of interest."

"Hai." Sai answered and then disappeared.

Kakashi stepped forward for the first time. "If this is some sort of genetic manipulation it sounds a lot like what Orochimaru use to do. I'll see what records we have on the matter and what Anbu can find."

"Thank you, Kakashi Sensei." Naruto said nodding his head once. Kakashi was gone in a flash just like Sai.

Sakura turned towards Ino. "I think it is time for me to speak with Hanami. She may be a bit more forthcoming with information if I am there."

"Agreed." Ino echoed. "I can make arrangements as soon as you are ready."

"I'm ready now." Sakura informed.

"I will start prepping." Ino answered. She turned to Naruto and bowed before walking out of his office.

"Sakura." Naruto stopped Sakura in her tracks. The medic looked at her leader. The tall man came around his desk and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't fret too much. We'll figure this out." He then graced her with one of his goofy grins. And it did help settle Sakura's nerves, despite her being shaken up about someone messing with her and the Hokage's DNA. She gave him a sweet smile in return and then left.

Naruto's smile disappeared instantly. Shikamaru who always paid attention to small details did not miss it.

"What's wrong Naruto?" Shikamaru asked, worried that it would affect his work load. But also concerned for his friend.

Naruto sighed heavily and plopped down in his chair in defeat. "I know now why Hinata was summoned by her sister."

* * *

"What did you just say?" Hinata asked shocked.

Hinabi stared at her sister with a hard expression. "I said, Naruto and Sakura have a daughter together."

* * *

"There are two of them?!" - Strongbad

Bonus points if you know what that is from.

Thank you so much for reading! It means the world to me!


	6. Chapter 6

Hello all! Thank you for making it this far! Things are picking up as I think of more and more fun twists and connections.

I'd love reviews so if you have a couple minutes I would love some feedback.

On to chapter 6!

* * *

Crystal like laughter filled the halls of the Hyuga compound. Hanabi just looked at her older sister with an annoyed look. Yet Hinata would not stop laughing. She held her stomach as her chuckling shook her body.

"Oh, Hanabi, that, haha, that is the silliest thing I've ever heard! What's gotten into you?" Hinata choked out as she tried to catch her breath.

Hanabi didn't want to break her sister's heart. But the evidence was pretty incriminating. As soon as the Hyuga jonin had reported about the young pink-haired girl in the interrogation department Hanabi had sent out her spiders to collect proof. She was nearly beside herself when the DNA chart had been placed before her. The hero that had once saved her life and the lives of everyone in Konoha had become her enemy. Hanabi folded her arms over her lap and looked up at her sister with a sobered expression.

"Hinata, I do have evidence to prove this accusation." Hanabi disclosed. The younger Hyuga nodded her head towards the envelope sitting on the polished wooden table between the two sisters. "It isn't much but I do feel you must confront Naruto and find out the truth."

A bit of the humor in Hinata's eyes dulled as she looked at the offending envelope. The ex-heiress made no move to take the envelope. Rumors had been flying around Konoha about their captive; the girl was a demon, she was the world's greatest beauty, she was a hideous beast, she had killed 1,000 people. The rumors were running rampant because no one knew the truth. Now the truth was staring Hinata in the face and she did not want to deal with it.

Hinata looked up at her sister, "How do you know this is even legitimate? This could be anything. What Hyuga looked at this? Perhaps-"

"Hinata." Hanabi interrupted and Hinata stilled. She sighed deeply, "Stop looking for an escape. You need to face this. Here." Hanabi picked up and handed her sister the envelope with a slender hand.

There was no humor in Hinata's demeanor now. She hesitantly accepted the offered envelope. Hinata lifted the flap and pulled out a packet of papers. In her well manicured hands were two sets of DNA tests. One was for Sakura and the new girl. And the other was one comparing her husband's DNA with the same child. The thick print _of 99.9% chance of relation _swam in her vision. "It's not possible." Hinata whispered. Dark thoughts circulated through her mind. _Did Naruto? No, he wouldn't! But Sakura and he use to… That was so long ago though! Wait, how old is the girl, could it be that before we…? What will I tell the kids? Where will I-_

"Hinata!" Hanabi chided.

Hinata looked up at her sister shocked. Her sister's appearance was blurred by the tears now spilling from her moon like eyes.

"Calm down. Breath." Hanabi coached.

A ragged breath filled Hinata's chest as she remembered to breath at her sister's prompting.

"Good. Now, we need to figure what the truth is." Hanabi directed her sister.

"Yes, you're right." Hinata agreed as she tried to center herself. Her rampant emotions began to cool. Reason began to take back control. "There has to be an explanation. Naruto and I have been married for years. We love each other. So there is nothing for me to worry about. I'll...just… ask him about it." She said to herself more than to Hanabi.

Hanabi watched her sister closely. The older Hyuga sister seemed to be pulling herself together. She wiped away hot tears and cleaned herself up.

"You're going now?" Hanabi inquired as Hinata stood.

"Yes. This is something me and my husband need to work out. Together." Hinata said and grabbed her purse. She walked to the doorway before turning back to her younger sibling. "Thank you for always looking out for me Hanabi." And with those final words Hinata was gone.

Hanabi slouched in her chair. She let her head fall back against the cushioned armchair and sighed. Not for the first time she wondered what her life would have been like if Hinata had demanded to remain as the Hyuga Heiress. She let her mind imagine different possible life scenarios if just that had happened. But only for a moment until a tattooed Hyuga entered the room as she regained her composure and posture.

* * *

Three kuni landed into the thick trunk of a pine only inches away from Bolt's head. He ducked lower and summoned two shadow clones. The first took off into the open field sprinting as fast as it could. Bolt watched as two kuni pierced the shadow clone's back and he fell forward in anguish before disappearing in a puff of smoke. But now he had her. His opponent was hidden in the tree tops watching her prey below. The kuni had given her position away.

He turned around and nodded to the second one. The shadow clone climbed slowly through the bushes as to not be detected.

Bolt then jumped up, grabbed two of the kuni embedded in the tree, and threw them as hard as he could towards Sarada's hiding spot. He watched as she jumped to avoid them. She leaped to the next tree and continued running along the tree branches, just like he wanted.

As she stepped across one thick branch the shadow clone Bolt had sent out earlier jumped up and tackled her. The two tumbled through the branches until Sarada landed on the hard ground in a puff of smoke. She rolled back over just in time to see Bolt running at her with a crackling chidori running up his arm. In an instant the sharingan activated in her defense.

Bolt screeched to a halt and sent a spray of dirt towards the youngest Uchiha.

"You cheater!" He accused.

Sarada stood and started to brush herself off. "Me a cheater? Ha! Look who's using the chidori! We said no family techniques!" Sarada fought back.

Bolt watched his girlfriend's eyes slowly fade back to their usual black color. To this day he still loved watching her Sharingan come and go. "Well, the chidori isn't my family's technique so it doesn't count."

"What? How does that make sense? It's a family jutsu! We never said that it was okay to use them as long as it wasn't our own family's."

"We never said it wasn't okay to use other family's techniques!" Bolt countered.

Sarada just stared at the young Uzumaki with an unamused look plastered over her face.

Bolt laughed at the girl's lack of enthusiasm with his reasoning. "But I'm not wrong." He sang.

"Uh-hu...well I still cry foul." Sarada said walking towards her knapsack of supplies. From it she pulled two bottles of water, one that she tossed to Bolt. He caught it mid air with his left hand.

"Oh no, I had you. It was a clear win in my favor. Doesn't that make it three weeks in a row?" Bolt asked pretending he didn't know that it was exactly three weeks.

"Fine. You have my full support future hokage." Sarada said sarcastically.

"Why, thank you, loyal subject." Bolt boasted.

"Alright, alright, don't push it." She warned. "Why did we even start this stupid agreement?"

Bolt gulped down some ice cold water before answering, "As your future hokage I can tell you that it was because you thought you had a chance of beating me to the title of hokage. But if the results of today are any indicator, I have the position in the bag."

"Why you!" Sarada chirped before rushing towards Bolt. He burst out laughing as she tackled him to the ground. The young couple rolled across the ground until they came to a stop with Bolt hovering over Sarada.

He smiled down at her lovingly as he ran his fingers through her long hair. "You'll win next time." He assured her. "And then I'll be the one supporting you."

"At least you know." She teased while smiling back at him.

Bolt's expression softened a bit as he leaned down. His eyes drifted over Sarada's lips as he crept closer to them. He was only inches away from her now and his whole body warmed with the anticipation of it.

"Bolt." Sarada whispered in protest, though she still closed her eyes and didn't turn her head.

And then it happened... an interruption.

"HEY LOOK! THERE'S BOLT AND SARADA!"

Bolt groaned and rolled off of Sarada, who sat up quickly and fixed her glasses.

"You still have a lot of training to do if you think you're going to beat me with moves like that." He said loud enough for the approaching trio to hear. He held out a hand for the blushing Uchiha and helped her to her feet.

"Training again?" Chocho asked with just a hint of skepticism in her voice. Only Sarada seemed to notice though.

"We've come to train too. Since my mom has been getting on my case lately. She says I need to be ready if there is another attack on the village. I need to be able to do my part, she says." Inojin explained.

"It's just troublesome, if you ask me." Shikadai complained.

Sarada, now in control of the redness that had crept across her face, joined in, "Well, we still don't know much about what happened. Have you guys heard anything?"

"My father won't tell me anything. But he does ask me to play Go with him a lot more now. I have to play with him a couple of hours every night. It's annoying." Shikadai informed the group.

"Mom won't tell me anything either. And my dad just pretends he has no idea what is going on but I saw him pack a bag this morning. I'm pretty sure he's been sent on some mission." Added Inojin.

"At least your parents are involved! My parents don't do anything interesting. Man, I totally got the short end of the stick!" Chocho whined.

Inojin turned towards Bolt and Sarada, "What have your parents told you?"

"Nothing!" Sarada huffed. She didn't understand why her mother wasn't sharing things with her like she normally did. Hadn't she proved herself already?

"All I know is that they've got some girl locked up somewhere in Ino Sensei's department." Bolt added the only piece of news the group actually had.

"Well, they have to tell us something, eventually. Right?" Chocho surmised.

* * *

"Mom!" Hanami squealed. "I knew you would come looking for me! Please tell me you remember who I am." She stood and skipped up to the barrier that held her in a small but neat room. In it was a small stone bed, a toilet and a desk and chair set. On the desk were three books in a messy heap. It was better accommodations than most prisoners received. Ino was being nice to this young girl.

Outside of the barrier was a single seat facing the room. Sakura stood behind it looking at the eager young woman. They had cleaned her up. Her long pink hair was clean and tied back in a single braid. She wore a simple beige one piece that had a string to tie around her slender waist. She was barefoot though. But what Sakura noticed most of all were the large round blue orbs that sucked her in. They were Naruto's eyes, and this young girl had them.

Hanami's initial excitement seemed to diminish when she got no answer from the older woman.

"So you don't remember me." Hanami answered for Sakura. A dark shadow seeped into Hanami's brows as they furrowed together. It lasted only a second until Hanami became more determined than ever. She looked back at the pink haired kunoichi standing opposite her. "Would you feel more comfortable if I called you Sakura?" she asked.

Sakura was surprised by the question and couldn't help but feel grateful for her consideration. "I think I would like that. Until we figure out the truth." Sakura circled the chair and sat in it. "I would like to find out exactly what the truth is, if you wouldn't mind helping me piece things together."

"I would like that very much, mo- Sakura." Hanami corrected herself.

"Can I ask you some questions?"

"Of course." Hanami answered.

Sakura leaned back and thought about the list of things she, Shikamaru, and Ino had planned out. It was best to start of simply first.

"Where is your brother?" Sakura started.

Hanami instantly clammed up. She wasn't to sure if she could trust the mother that had forgotten her. "Nearby." She answered vaguely.

Sakura frowned. She would have to get the girl to warm up to her a bit first before she started asking the tougher questions.

"How old are you?" She tried again.

Hanami relaxed, "I turned 18 a couple of months ago."

Sakura nodded. "And how long have the chakra attacks been happening for you?"

Again Hanami second guessed Sakura's motives. But Hanami thought better of it. Telling Sakura would only help solve this mystery. "About a month before my birthday. I think they may have to do with why everyone has forgotten me."

"That could be." Sakura conceded. She paused and took a good long look at the girl before her. "You know, I get it. It must be hard to trust us, me, right now. But we do want what's best for you. We're going to do everything in our power to figure this all out. So, I'm going to ask that you trust me. That you tell me about your brother and where I can find him. Just maybe with the two of you we'll be able to figure things out sooner. So, what do you say, can you point me in the right direction?"

Hanami searched the older woman's green eyes for any signs of foul play. But all she saw was her mother's face. So after a few moments she gave in, "I can't sense him very well, with this barrier and all, but I get the feeling that he is near the Valley of the End."

Sakura looked back at the two-way mirror behind her. Hanami followed her gaze.

"Is Aunt Ino in there?" Hanami asked.

Sakura decided she could also be honest with the girl this once. "Yes. She's been keeping an eye on you. She'll let her husband know where to look for your brother."

Guilt washed over Hanami like a huge wave. She wondered if she had just betrayed her brother. Sakura watched the emotion evolve on the girl's face.

"We won't hurt him." Sakura reassured the captive.

"I really hope so." Hanami said still not entirely certain she had done the right thing.

Sakura fought off the sympathy welling in the pit of her stomach.

* * *

A soft knock echoed through the hokage's office. Naruto looked up from the computer screen he had been staring blankly at. "Come in." He allowed.

Hinata stood in the hallway staring at the door knob in front of her. With all the courage she could muster she grasped the door handle and pushed her way into her husband's office. Inside Naruto sat alone as though he was waiting for her. When she came up to his desk he stood.

Naruto inspected his wife. She did not seem mad, but her eyes were puffy and he knew she had been crying. She was trying so hard to not worry him by staying strong in his presence. He strolled around his desk and grabbed her elbow gentle.

"Hinata, I know you went to Hanabi but I-" Naruto started.

"I trust you." Hinata blurted looking at her husband's face for the first time.

Naruto stood speechless.

"I trust you, Naruto. I know what kind of man you are. And I know there is some sort of explanation to all of this. And just like I have done since our wedding day, I will stand by your side. No matter what." Hinata declared.

There was nothing else to do, Naruto hugged his wife tightly. He placed his strong arms around her waist and back and held her as close to him as he dared. "Thank you." he whispered into her soft hair. Hinata returned the gesture and hugged her husband.

"I promise we'll get to the bottom of this." Naruto said with his chin resting on the top of Hinata's head.

* * *

"That's some pretty intense pink hair for a boy. You should probably dye it so people don't mistake you for a girl." Sai said facing the young man camped out in the ruins of the Valley of the End.

The young man just growled angrily. "What do you want, old man?"

Sai watched the boy closely. It seemed as though the intruder had made some sort of makeshift camp in the ruins. There was a bed roll laid out on a smooth flat boulder. A couple of bags were tossed together with supplies in them. And a couple of dead rabbits hung from a nearby tree. The young man must have been here for a while. The boy himself seemed to be in good shape. He was tall, though not as tall as Sai was. Shaggy pink hair hung messily against his forehead. He wore a black sweat suit that had red striping along the sides. The jacket sleeves were pushed up and it was unzipped revealing a white t-shirt underneath. Sai did notice that there was some healing bruises along his arms.

"We've been looking for you." Sai finally answered.

"How'd you even get past my traps?" The boy inquired. He turned to face Sai completely and began to study him with expertise.

Sai ignored the question and continued. "We have your sister, Hanashi."

"It's Hanami." The pink haired boy corrected. But the look in his eyes was one of slight panic and anger.

"And what's your name?" Sai tried to stall with his hands behind his back. In his fist he was fiddling with a tiny scroll. With his expert skill he drew a messenger mouse and called it into being. The small creature darted down the back of his leg and began it's sprint towards the village.

"Hanako." The boy answered simply.

Sai giggled. "Girl hair, girl name, you're sure you're not Hanana's sister?"

"It's Hanami. And they thought we were two girls when we were born because of the pink hair." Hanako answered annoyed. He fiddled with the flap of his kuni pouch.

"Okay. Okay. So you're Hanako. Well, I am-"

"I know who you are, Sai." Hanako cut in. Hanako lowered into a defensive stance. "And I would appreciate it if you would let my sister go. She doesn't even know what's going on."

"And what is going on?" Sai asked while putting a hand on the blank scroll hanging on his hip.

"Don't worry about it. I'll fix it all. Just let my sister go so she can go home. She has no part in this."

Sai turned his head to the side and asked, "And just where is home."

Hanako stopped. He seemed almost perplexed on how to answer the question but he finally answered with, "From a different truth."

"A different truth. That makes no sense. You must be as crazy as your sister." It was all Sai needed to say to push Hanako over the edge. The boy lunged for the artist ninja with a blade in hand. It shined in the light as it made contact with Sai's own kuni. The clang of metal on metal rang out and echoed against the valley's walls. Sai pushed away from Hanako's blade and landed a few feet away. But it was only a moment until Hanako was back on top of him with another blade. With his other hand he made seals. Appearing next to him was a shadow clone that kicked at Sai's stomach. The older nin did a flip backwards to get out of the way of the strike.

"One handed seals. That's pretty impressive." Sai said in his monotone voice.

"That's nothing." Hanako declared and in a flash performed another set of lightning fast seals.

Suddenly behind Sai grew a tree at a rapid pace. It's branches soared over Sai's head and snaked around his body. The leaf ninja tried to grab his ninja tools in time but could do nothing with his arms pinned against his sides. He wiggled in the tree's grasp helplessly.

Above him, out of the tree's trunk, appeared Hanako. He raised his fist with kuni in hand and plunged it down towards Sai's chest.

* * *

So there we have it. I hope you liked the chapter. Again, if you have time let me know what you think so far. I'd really appreciate it!


	7. Chapter 7

Hello! It was so much fun writing this chapter! Tons of action! Well, at least I think so. But it also took me longer to edit because I wanted to make sure the fight scenes were clear and you would all understand what was happening. Let me know if it all just reads like gibberish.

I hope both the NS and NH fans are enjoying the story. I can't wait to reveal more of the inner workings and twists for both canon and fanon.

If you have time, or are compelled to please leave a review or write me a private message. I'd love to get some feedback. And if you have already done so, please just know how much I truly appreciate it!

Alright, enough of that mushy stuff, hehe, on to the story. Here is Chapter 7 of The Other Ones.

* * *

In a great arc the metal of Hanako's blade swung down. It was aligned perfectly with the center of Sai's chest plate. It would only take moments for a lung to fill with thick red liquid and Sai to die drowning in his own blood. But the blade never made it to it's target. It hung in the air shaking against an invisible force. Hanako's blue eyes searched wildly for what was restraining him but he could not move an inch.

"That's a bit much don't you think?" A bored voice spoke from behind him. Shikamaru walked up to his companion and placed a hand on Sai's shoulder. With a single pulse of chakra the pink haired boy's genjutsu was broken. The tree that was binding Sai disappeared from view and the artist was set free. Sai shook himself and thanked the other Konoha nin.

Both older men looked at the intruder trapped in Shikamaru's shadow technique. The boy flexed his muscles testing the hold of the shadow but it would not give. "That was a pretty impressive display." Shikamaru admitted. Sai said nothing. Neither did the captured young man.

"You've got some skill. Your genjutsu seemed spot on. Almost as good as Kurenai's." Shikamaru continued.

"I learned it from my mother." Hanako corrected venomously.

"And who might that be?" Shikamaru asked.

"You should know, you have my sister as your prisoner. Though I'm sure you must think she's just a lunatic." Hanako hissed.

"So you say Sakura is your mother too…" Shikamaru stepped up to the boy, just inches from him. But it wasn't a threat, the older ninja was looking at the boy, studying him. "You look a lot like your sister." A flash of warning sparked in Hanako's eyes.

"They're twins." Sai informed.

"Interesting." Was all Shikamaru had to offer. "Let's get him back to Konoha." He finally ordered after looking the boy over once more.

Without prompting Sai opened a scroll and began to paint at an incredible speed. Two giant birds lifted from the pages and stood waiting to be mounted. Once the trio was seated the ink birds flapped their giant wings and soared above the treetops. All the while, shikamaru held tightly onto Hanako with his shadow jutsu.

* * *

Sakura tried to shake the feelings that clung to her after her meeting with Hanami. The young girl was having a very strange effect on her. And not for the first time, Sakura wondered what power was at play here. Sakura chastised herself for letting her emotions steer her thoughts yet again. A level head was needed to sort this all out, even more so since the implications were so damaging. She lifted her fist and paused just for a second before knocking on the Hokage's door.

A stiff, "Come in." was heard through the thick wood door.

Sakura pushed open the door to her childhood teammates office. "Naruto, I - Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to intrude." Sakura said awkwardly, seeing the couple locked in an embrace.

"It's no intrusion." Hinata answered from beside her husband.

Sakura looked at Hinata and gave a shy smile in response. The Hyuga's eyes were a little red. The ex-heiress had been crying. Sakura peared at the Seventh with a questioning look, wondering if it was in fact a very inopportune time for her to be there.

"It's okay. She knows about the girl Hanami. And that any connection to us is impossible" Naruto explained. Sakura sighed in relief.

"Hinata, you should know that Naruto and I… I mean… we never… would never-" Sakura was cut off.

"It's really okay, Sakura." Hinata reassured. "Naruto has just finished explaining to me what is going on. We'll all get to the bottom of this." And to emphasize her words Hinata walked around the Hokage's desk and placed a gentle hand on the pink haired woman's shoulder.

Sakura smiled at the other woman. "Well then, I guess I should tell you what we have figured out. Hanami's brother is hidden-" Again the medic was cut off.

"Brother?" Hinata interjected a little shocked.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head and answered, "Yeah, I forgot to mention that part. There might be another one. We just haven't found him yet." Hinata only nodded slowly, determined to not let anything set her off balance. She had decided already to be completely supportive and trusting of her husband.

"But we will. Hanami pointed us in the right direction. Ino is trying to get ahold of Sai and Shikamaru left awhile ago." Sakura informed. "It took quite a bit of effort to get the information out of her though. I'm not entirely sure that it is accurate"

"Perhaps if these children are as confused as you say we must treat them with a bit more compassion. Aren't there any measures we can take to make them more comfortable while keeping the village safe?" Hinata directed to the two former team 7 members.

"The more answers we get, the more we will be able to ease our hold on them. But we still aren't sure what kind of threat is around us." the Hokage explained.

"Perhaps a little trust would go a long way." Hinata surmised.

"Ino has spent a lot of time with Hanami and thinks she is harmless, but I'm still don't think it's time to let her have free range, especially when she is so confused." Sakura confessed. "But I'm sure there are things we can do to make her more comfortable and more forthcoming with information."

"You and Ino do what you think is best." Naruto said.

"I think compassion will go a long way for these children." Hinata said with a soft smile on her face. "We should try trusting them first."

Suddenly there was a burst of energy as a chunin stampeded through the hokage's door and up to the desk.

"Seventh! Shikamaru Sensei says he needs you at the interrogation office. He's just arrived with a captive that attacked Sai!"

The three adults from the Konoha 11 looked at each other before disappearing in a flash.

* * *

"Nako!" Hanami shouted in surprise and relief as her brother was marched in by Shikamaru using his shadow technique. The young girl, who had been reading on her bed, sprang to her feet and ran up to the barrier. The book was forgotten on the ground, laying in a heap. The siblings immediately began to study one another. Each one searching for any wounds or signs of trouble. Hanami pushed herself against the barrier to get as close to her brother as possible. Hanako pushed against the shadow technique but to no avail.

As he was being ushered into his own chamber like prison Hanako asked, "Are you okay? Are you hurt at all?"

"No, no, I'm fine. I mean I was injured in a fight but they healed me." Hanami answered her brother's concerns. "But everyone else seems to be confused or under some sort of jutsu. No one remembers us!" She then turned her attention to Shikamaru. "What are you doing to my brother? Why won't you let us go? We aren't the enemy!" Hanami started to shout as she worked herself up into a fever of angry emotions.

"Calm down, Hanami. I'll explain everything. I'll get you home. I promise." Hanako insisted as he was locked in the room besides his sister. The two gravitated towards one another. They stood by one another, on either side of a clear barrier, looking out at their captors.

Sai and Shikamaru looked right back at them. Now that the twins were next to one another it was clear their resemblance, not only to one another but also to their alleged parents.

"The Hokage is on his way. He'll decide what kind of threat you are. We'll go from there." Shikamaru informed the twins. It was though Shikamaru had summoned the hokage because at that moment Naruto walked in, lead by Ino, and followed by Sakura and Hinata.

"Dad! Mom!" Hanami cried out. Then her blue eyes fell across Hinata and she bowed slightly, "Lady Hinata."

More than one person was shocked by Hanami's greeting. The room froze as each person seemed to be working through their own thoughts.

Hinata was the first to break the silence, "I'm sorry, do we know each other?"

Hanami groaned, "Not you too. Does no one remember us?" The young girl almost seemed desperate for some sort of acknowledgement but none of the adults before her could give her that. The girl's sad eyes went from person to person until they connected with Naruto's. Blue eyes seared into his, longing for him to recognize her. Naruto almost wished he could, just to ease her suffering, but the warning in his head forbid him from complying.

"Dad…" Hanami whimpered.

"They're not our parents." Hanako said sternly. Everyone's attention, including his sister's, turned to the pink haired boy. "We don't know any of these people." He said as he glared at each of the curious eyes before him.

* * *

Grunts and bellows could be heard as the two young teams of Konoha ninjas sparred one another. The Ino-Shika-Cho trio was having a hard time fighting against the two prodigies. Sarada and Bolt were a tight combo of young fighters that were well versed in defending one another while alternating attacks. So even though it was two versus three, the duo had the advantage.

Sarada jumped off the back of one of Bolt's shadow clones to release an aerial strike of her family's fire technique. A raging ball of flame poured from her mouth and covered the training grounds like a blanket of fire.

ChoCho shielded her teammates with her engorged body. The fire resistant armor she wore across her back took the brunt of the attack. But as the girl covered her teammates it gave Bolt time to circle his opponent with clones.

But it wasn't over just yet. Beneath ChoCho, Shikadai sent tendrils of his shadow jutsu through the ground like tiny serpents. When they reappeared they speared the shadow clones through different parts of their bodies. They disappeared one by one with a cry of anguish. The two groups of fighters faced each other in a stalemate.

Suddenly there was a great rumbling around them. Each young ninja looked about to see who was responsible for the mini earthquake. Most looked to Sarada, expecting her to be enacting her mother's brutal strength and amazing chakra control, but when they saw her she was only standing with her sharingan activated, searching as they were. The real Bolt ran up to her side and asked, "What do you think it is?"

"I don't see anything." She answered. "Could just be an earthquak-" An explosion rang out. It shook the very air and knocked the Konoha ninja's back. Bolt was the first to recover, jumping up to his feet. Before him was a blast zone of destroyed training grounds. And in the middle of the blast was a glowing box.

"What the hell?!" Chocho cursed as she rolled to a sitting position.

Inojin was several feet away, bleeding profusely from a cut above his hairline. The blood dripped down his face in a thick stream. Shikadai was at his side helping him to his feet.

Rubble from the explosion littered what remained of the training ground. Sarada was laying with the debris but still had her eyes locked on the wooden crate pulsing with Chakra.

All five of them watched as the box landed softly on the ground. It began to shake wildly, thrashing around the small crater created by the explosion. Strings of chakra appeared from the box plunging into the surrounding ground. Each string snaked its way through the ground, wrapping itself around equipment and trees.

"Stay clear of those!" Bolt barked at the others. As he said it, the strings began their pursuit of the teens. Each of the ninjas dodged the offending strands by leaping from ground to treetops. Shikadai helped Inojin with his escape, supporting him under one shoulder.

"Sarada!" Bolt yelled out.

"I know!" Sarada answered. Her eyes were glued on the box and the strings squirming from it's core. But search as she may she could not find a human source to the chakra emanating from the crate. "There's nothing! It's just like the attack from before!" She shouted so the entire group could hear.

"Ahhhhhhh!" A ragged scream filled the air. Chocho was falling from the tree that she had just been standing in. She plummeted towards the ground. Before Sarada could jump to her friend's help she was also knocked forward by an invisible force, which felt like a foot smashing into her lower back. Her chakra grip on the branch she was standing on faltered and she too hurtled towards the ground. Before she became very intimate with the ground Bolt caught her mid-air. He landed in a cloud of dust but only had a moment before he leaped to the side, dodging a chakra tendril.

"Someone is here. Attacking us, but I can't see them!" Sarada shouted so Bolt would hear her as the wind rushed past them.

"It's the same as last time. It's just like my dad said. They couldn't see the enemy either. We'll have to focus on using defence techniques." Bolt said skipping away from another rope of chakra. When he found a moment of reprieve he placed Sarada on her feet.

"Inojin!" Shikadai screamed. Bolt and Sarada looked at the two boys across the field. Shikadai held both of Inojin's arms but a tendril had wrapped itself around the latter's ankle. It pulled and twisted on Inojin's leg, yanking him from Shikadai's grasp. Without warning, Shikadai was knocked back. He flew through the air until he landed hard against the earth. Inojin smashed into the ground only moments later.

The captured boy clawed at the earth as the chakra string pulled him towards the center of the crater. Bolt pounded towards his friend and with a chakra blade made to cut the string, but when the blade touched the string it soaked up the chakra and made Bolt go weak in the knees. The young Uzumaki's chakra was being stolen from him.

Sarada started to sprint to help the two boys but as she stepped forward an invisible force collided with her jaw and sent her flying in the opposite direction.

With all the force he could muster, Bolt pulled himself and his chakra blade away from the parasitic thread. Instantly he felt his energy return to him. "Don't use chakra!" He commanded. And then cut the string with a regular kunai, freeing Inojin. The pale blonde haired teen writhed on the ground. "Sarada! I need your help! Inojin is injured!" He took a step towards his fallen comrade but was stopped by an invisible knee connecting with his stomach. Bolt doubled over in pain. Through gritted teeth he demanded, "Show yourself, coward!"

The only answer he received was another strike to his face.

* * *

"Not our parents?" Hanami whispered confused and depressed. She looked up at her brother sharply and through blurry eyes, "What does that mean? What does any of this mean? Tell me what's happening!" She demanded her brother as panic set in.

Naruto stepped up to the twins, "That's something we would all like to know."

Hanako just glared at the hokage.

Sakura tried, "We know this has been difficult for you and your sister. But we can't help you unless you tell us what is going on. We have to start somewhere." Sakura pleaded with the young man.

While his eyes did soften, Hanako maintained his glare when he looked at Sakura. "It's nothing you have to worry about, Uchiha Sakura." Hanako spat.

"Uchiha?" Hanami said puzzled.

"It does concern us." Naruto spoke, demanding the twins attention with his tone of voice. But he remembered his wife's words and spoke calmly. "This is our home and it's been attacked. We are just as confused by the occurrence as your sister. And while it seems like you are upset with us, we don't know why. If you'd be willing to share what you know we can start to fix the problem."

Hanako just stared at Naruto processing his words.

"Nako…" Hanami whispered trying to urge her brother.

The young man took a deep breath before he started, "My sister and I are from-" Just as he was about to finally explain the building shook with a terrible tremor. Dust sprinkled down on the group from the ceiling and the ground rumbled.

"It's just like the explosion from before." Shikamaru informed the group.

"Another attack." Hinata worried.

"Let's go everyone, we'll finish this later." Naruto commanded.

"No!" Hanako yelled. "You have to take me with you!"

Naruto stared at the boy in disbelief. "You honestly think we'd-"

"I'm the only one that knows how to deal with this threat. I've fought him before. You just lucked out last time. You're going to need me out there to stop this guy!"

Hanako and Naruto stood staring at one another from either side of the barrier. Naruto saw something in the young man's eyes, conviction. And though he knew it was risky he decided to move against his better judgement. "Let him out."

"What?" Ino said out of shock, but moved to open the cell anyway.

Hanako waited on the other side finally looking at Naruto without complete disgust on his face. When the barrier was brought down and Hanako stepped free he looked back at her sister.

"She'll stay here. It'll be safe for her." Naruto explained. _And it will help guarantee your cooperation. _

"Don't worry." Hanako said to his sister without breaking eye contact with her. "I'll be back for you and we'll go home." The twin sister just nodded in response trusting her brother fully.

"All right, here we go. Sai go ahead and get us an aerial view. Shikamaru go get the Anbu defense up and running. You boy, are with me. Sakura you gather your medic team in case we have more injured. Ino you stay here with the girl. Hinata, you get the people to safety if they are in harm's way." Naruto appointed each person a task.

"Perhaps," Hinata started, "I may stay with the girl."

Naruto looked at the Hyuga like he was seeing her for the first time. But he did not have time to argue and knew that his wife meant well. "Fine. Ino, you take care of the villagers. Everyone move!"

Each person took off in their own direction to complete their tasks leaving Hinata and Hinami behind.

"Why don't we go somewhere a bit safer and more comfortable." Hinata said with a smile.

* * *

"Bolt!" Sarada screamed as she watched him skid across the dirt on his face. She wanted to run to him but Inojin laid in her arms already. Though she was pumping healing waves of chakra into his body the boy was still thrashing, murmuring incoherent nothings. She tried to hold him down as she watched the blood bath before her.

Chocho's arms had been dislocated and hung uselessly at her sides. She still stood between Shikadai, who was cutting strings like a mad man, trying to protect him from an enemy she could not see.

Shikadai's ankle was broken, Sarada could see that with her sharingan but he still dragged himself across the field. His shirt was soaked with his own and Inojin's blood.

Bolt was taking the brunt of the attack. Everytime he called forth a shadow clone it disappeared almost instantly from some unseen attack. "Fuck!" Bolt cursed as yet another shadow clone turned to a puff of smoke. He took his last five kunai in one hand. With a flick of his wrist he sent them flying in a wave around him. One of them ricocheted off something metal. Perhaps the enemy had blocked it with a sword. "I've got you now bastard!" Bolt screamed as he swung his leg in a great arc to cover as much ground as possible. Leg connected with leg and whatever was attacking Konoha fell hard on it's back. Bolt jumped to the spot where the impact had been but as he careened towards the spot he was knocked back yet again. He twirled through the air hitting the ground every couple of feet until he was caught. Bolt looked up to see his father hovering over him. "Dad…" he managed to get out before coughing up blood.

"Sai! Get the kids out of here!" Naruto shouted to the heavens. Only a moment later five birds appeared and soared towards the ground. In their giant claws they picked up ChoCho, Inojin and Shikadai. Both Sarada and Bolt waved away their birds.

"I'm staying." Bolt demanded.

"Me too!" Sarada agreed.

Over Naruto's shoulder came the sarcastic voice of Hanako, "Why bother, you'll only get in the way." Both Sarada and Bolt looked at the newcomer. He stood just to the side of Naruto looking over the battleground. "What a mess."

"Who are you?" Bolt asked clearly annoyed and then spit out a glob of blood onto the dirt.

"Nobody you should concern yourself with." Hanako responded before stepping out in the field. "Just cut the strings while I take care of this asshole." Then the pink haired boy turned away from them and stared at the chakra box still glowing in the middle of the small crater.

"We should come up with a plan first. We can't see this guy. We'll need to work together." Naruto said helping his son to his feet.

"That's funny coming from Konoha's number one most reckless ninja." Hanako laughed. But it wasn't his words or familiarity that shocked the father and son. It was his eyes. When the pink haired stranger turned back at them he had gone through an all too familiar metamorphosis. Hanako had entered a perfected toad sage mode. Surrounding his eyes were red markings that extended down his face and touched his collar bones. His eyes, once a crystal blue, were now as pink as his hair.

"How?" Naruto asked, forgetting to hide his surprise.

"Clones of course. I had them hidden in the Valley of the End. Didn't know when I would need one. Good thing old man Sai didn't find those." Hanako explained, not really answering Naruto's question.

"That's not what I meant! How do you know-"

"Oops, sorry old man, time to fight." And without warning Hanako swung out a fist that collided with nothing but what seemed like air. "Back again, asswipe?" Hanako spoke to thin air. Hanako pulled out a kunai and swung it up in front of him at head level. It swept through the air without making contact with anything.

"Why don't you come to this side and fight for real?" Hanako yelled. He then dodged, rolled against the ground, and began to sprint about the field with his blade held high.

"What the hell?" Bolt stammered.

"My thoughts exactly, but we better cut those threads before we ask any more questions." Naruto said dashing to the first string. "Don't use chakra when cutting them!"

"Yeah, we figured that out the hard way." Bolt answered cutting his first thread. Sarada was already getting started on the opposite side of the field.

While Naruto worked he kept an eye on the pink haired wonder. He watched as the boy soared through the air, as sparks filled the air when metal struck unseen metal, and he watched as the boy danced around keeping his attacker away from the working trio. The tactic only worked for a second though. Now that the strings were being cut at an alarming pace the enemy turned their attention back to the box. Sarada was the first to be attacked. She soared through the air until her back collided with a tree and she yelped out in pain. She landed in a heap at the base of the tree. Hanako was at Bolt's and Naruto's side in a flash. "Damn." he cursed. "He won't leave you guys alone and I can't do any real damage unless I cross over." He then turned his attention to Naruto. "Don't break the box until I'm back over here. Do you hear me? I can't leave my sister on this side." And without explanation Hanako took off again. He leapt, one step, two, and then vanished.

"What?!" Bolt exclaimed exasperated.

Naruto tried to reach out and sense the chakra of the mysterious young man but he picked up nothing. There was no sign that he had ever existed at all. Until there was an inpact a few meters from the Uzumakis. Then a tree was cut in half and the top half toppled to the ground.

Suddenly Hanako reappeared by Sarada. He picked her up and vaulted away before the area was disintegrated. "Dick move!" He shouted over his shoulder. Naruto looked the young man over, he was bleeding from a cut on his brow and there seemed to be significant bruising to his right side but other than that he looked to be in good shape. Naruto watched as the boy placed Sarada on the ground, turned on his heel, and faded from view again.

"This will go faster with a few shadow clones."Naruto said and summoned a half dozen to his side. Each of the Narutos began to cut the strings. Then, as Naruto was leaning down to cut yet another tendril, Hanako was knocked back into view. He careened through the air and smashed into the side of the crater. In the space before him there was suddenly a figure in a blood red cloak. The red cloaked figure pummeled Hanako deeper into the compacted earth. A sword sung as the enemy pulled it from its sheath. Before the killing blow could be made Naruto was charging at the figure with a rasengan in hand. But the fighting couple disappeared from view again before Naruto could do anything. He stood waiting, watching, for someone to reappear again. But there was nothing, just a long silence as his son and clones finished cutting the strings. Time past by and Naruto wondered if he shouldn't just end the charade by destroying the chakra box despite Hanako's pleas.

With a burst of energy, Hanako tumbled into existence again. "The box!" He yelled.

Naruto, like so many nights before, crushed the box.

"Where is he?" Naruto asked, still scanning the area.

"Trapped." Hanako answered, out of his sage mode, and breathing hard, exhausted. "Trapped on the other side."

* * *

((So? What did you guys think? Was the action good, bad, too over the top? And Hanako with that Sage Mode, am I right?

Let me know and I'll see you next time for chapter 8!))


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